Healthy, Candy Free, Spring Basket Ideas For Children

By Lady Lassarus

Whether you choose to celebrate the Spring Equinox in the form of Easter or Ostara, or the overall changing of the season, putting together a basket is an absolute must for your children! 

We all have fond memories, I’m sure, of our parents giving us baskets and we want to create those memories and pass down those traditions with our own children. Many will  buy pre-packaged baskets from the store out of convenience; however, I find many of these baskets to be a bit troubling. Not only do many of them cater to the lowest common denominator of whatever trendy cartoon is popular, but they're often filled with candy that is filled with toxins, refined sugar and hydrogenated oils as well as cheap plastic crap that ends up broken shortly after opening. 

Putting a practical basket together is quite easy and will get your kids outside in nature, which is how we should be celebrating the changing of the season! 

When I put a basket together for my little ones it usually always contains at least one book, things that we can use outside and some sort of spring gear to wear. 

Books:

We get books that are pertinent to Spring Equinox/Ostara. Have it be something as simple as a book about bunnies/fertility to identifying different animal nests/eggs to an actual children’s book about the Goddess Ostara. Local nature guides are also great! Any sort of animal track, leaf or plant identification books are helpful and also can be of use for homeschooling material. If you celebrate Easter there are plenty of books on the market to fill that need. This year I got a book called “Nature’s Art Box” which is basically a craft book you can bring with you outside- nature provides all the materials! 

Toys:

One year I got my daughter a Green Toys watering can and garden hand tool set. 

This year we are getting a garden tool set like this one for their basket. 

For my daughter’s first Ostara, I got her a nice wooden crate (that I have used over and over again for her Ostara basket) and filled it with felt veggies that she uses in her play kitchen. 

Other ideas are a nature magnifying glass, a bird feeder (or kit to make one), butterfly net, insect house, worm or ant farm, sand toys, chalk, bubbles, wooden eggs, paint for  painting rocks, a leaf press, basket for foraging, binoculars, soccer ball, etc. 

Attire:

Last year I got my daughter a nice outdoor sun hat (Sunday Morning hats are my favorite! Very great quality and they are adjustable, so you get more longevity out of them) and a nice rain coat as well as a body rain suite like this one:

This year I am adding a nice pair of rain boots. She outgrew her old ones. An umbrella, hiking backpack, water thermos, a bento box are also great ideas. I also came across a cute shirt for her that has different fruits on it that promotes “save the bees” as they are fruits that we wouldn’t have without bees! 

Plants:

Taking children to a local nursery to pick out a plant is so much fun and an educational experience! A Venus Fly Trap or Aloe plant is a great idea.

I hope that this post helped inspire you to ditch the candy and cheap baskets. I hope that you and your family not only enjoy getting outside this Spring, but that you to go out and make your own Spring Basket for your little ones! If this post inspired you, please post your baskets and tag us in your Instagram stories, we’d love to see what you come up with! 

@hearthandhelm

By lady Lassarus